STURBRIDGE - The proponents of a six megawatt solar farm at 99 Shepard Road have withdrawn their original proposal to the Conservation Commission, saying they are making significant changes to make the farm 30 percent smaller.

At last night’s public hearing before the commission, Glenn E. Krevosky, owner and manager of EBT Environmental Consultants of Oxford, said Mohd and Nazee Aslami, doing business as Ariana Inc., have downsized the proposed 6 megawatt, 40-acre solar farm to 4 megawatts and about 24 acres.

As a result, the Conservation Commission doesn’t have a proposal to weigh in on.

“Everything depends on the redesign. At the present time, all that we can tell is that they are taken it out of our hands because they are withdrawing what they presented to us,” Conservation Commission Chairman Michael Barnicle said. “If we see items on the (new) plan where we say, ‘Gee, guys, this is supposed to be part of the wetland protection act,’ then we will ask them nicely and they will come before us.”

Last week, Mr. Krevosky said the owners were planning to move the project 200 feet away from wetland boundaries and take it out of the Conservation Commission’s jurisdiction.

Under a town wetland bylaw, Sturbridge, through its Conservation Commission, gets to review projects within 200 feet of wetlands. If the proponents of a project stay beyond 200 feet, they are not required to go the commission for approval.

However, the same bylaw says that for projects occurring on slopes of 8 percent or greater, the conservation buffer zone is 500 feet. Kevin J. Quinn, president of Quinn Engineering in Paxton, which is working for Ariana Inc., acknowledged that there are slopes as great as 45 percent on the property, which may become a future stumbling block for the solar farm proponents.

In addition, any plans will also have to go to the Planning Board for review.

Although the Conservation Commissions made no ruling and had no plans before it, several in attendance weighed in about their concerns about and contempt for the proposed solar farm.

Resident Peter Zeh said he doesn’t think the solar farm belongs in an area where the developers would have to cut 24 acres of trees.

“People move to this town not to stare at concrete or glass or chain-link fences. It’s because we want to look at trees, wildlife, things you go to the country for,” Mr. Zeh said. “If I wanted to look at asphalt, I would get an apartment on Route 20 and save on some rent.”